December 2016 Briefing - Infectious Disease

Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Infectious Disease for December 2016. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.

Recurrence Is Low One Year After Eradication of H. pylori Infection

FRIDAY, Dec. 30, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The recurrence of Helicobacter pylori infection one year after eradication is low, according to a study published online Dec. 27 in the Journal of Digestive Diseases.

FRIDAY, Dec. 30, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- It is feasible to sell chlamydia test kits through pharmacies and use existing health infrastructure to follow up on results and manage clients, according to a pilot study published online Dec. 23 in the Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research.

THURSDAY, Dec. 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- An increase in human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence after renal transplantation (RT) may result from reactivation of latent HPV infections in women, according to a study published online Dec. 23 in the American Journal of Transplantation.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- For adults with solid cancer undergoing three-week cytotoxic chemotherapy cycles, antibody responses are comparable for influenza vaccination on day one and 11, according to a study published online Dec. 20 in Cancer.

TUESDAY, Dec. 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- From 1996 to 2013 there were considerable increases in personal health care spending in the United States, with the highest amounts for diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and low back and neck pain, according to a study published in the Dec. 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

TUESDAY, Dec. 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- For healthy adults from Sierra Leon, the recombinant type-5 vector-based Ebola vaccine is safe and immunogenic, according to a study published online Dec. 21 in The Lancet.

THURSDAY, Dec. 22, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Dry cord care is noninferior to the use of antiseptics in preventing omphalitis in full-term newborns in France, according to a study published online Dec. 22 in Pediatrics.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The novel herpes simplex virus (HSV) helicase-primase inhibitor pritelivir is more effective than valacyclovir for reducing genital HSV-2 shedding, according to a study published in the Dec. 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- There are about 6,200 resistant culture-confirmed nontyphoidal Salmonella infections annually, according to a study published in the January issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emerging Infectious Diseases.

TUESDAY, Dec. 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against routine serologic screening for genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in asymptomatic adolescents and adults, according to an final recommendation statement published in the Dec. 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

TUESDAY, Dec. 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Health care provider burnout is negatively associated with quality and safety of health care, according to a meta-analysis published recently in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

MONDAY, Dec. 19, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced critical changes in its registration renewal process, according to a report published by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

MONDAY, Dec. 19, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Cervicovaginal secretions from pregnant and nonpregnant women contain HIV infectivity-linked immune mediators, although there is no difference in infectivity between pregnant and nonpregnant women, according to a study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

FRIDAY, Dec. 16, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- A case of Kingella kingae keratitis in an HIV-positive adult male is described in a letter to the editor published online Dec. 12 in Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology.

TUESDAY, Dec. 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- For women with a singleton pregnancy planning a repeat cesarean delivery, universal group B streptococci (GBS) screening is not cost-effective, according to a study published in the January issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

MONDAY, Dec. 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Only about two out of five Americans had gotten this season's flu vaccination as of early November, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

MONDAY, Dec. 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Colombia is now experiencing a sharp increase in cases of infant microcephaly, according to research published in the Dec. 9 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

MONDAY, Dec. 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Use of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is cost-effective for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), according to a study published in the December issue of the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

MONDAY, Dec. 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Among adults with diagnosed diabetes, vaccination coverage varies, with influenza vaccination more prevalent than pneumococcal or hepatitis B vaccination, according to a December data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

FRIDAY, Dec. 9, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Screening for Babesia microti antibodies and DNA in blood-donation samples is associated with a reduction in the risk of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis, according to a study published in the Dec. 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of disability is 2.7 percent among medical students at U.S. allopathic medical schools, according to a research letter published in the Dec. 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue of medical education.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Specific learning interventions may improve emotional well-being among medical students, according to a review published in the Dec. 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue on medical education.

TUESDAY, Dec. 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Frequent groomers of pubic hair are three to four times more likely to contract a sexually transmitted infection, such as herpes, human papillomavirus, or syphilis, according to a study published online Dec. 5 in Sexually Transmitted Infections.

TUESDAY, Dec. 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalences of depression or depressive symptoms and suicide ideation are 27.2 and 11.1 percent, respectively, among medical students, according to a review published in the Dec. 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue on medical education.

THURSDAY, Dec. 1, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- A significant number of patients with HIV have strains of the virus that are resistant to both older and newer drugs, according to research published online Nov. 30 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

THURSDAY, Dec. 1, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Use of a vaginal ring containing dapivirine is efficacious for prevention of HIV-1 infection, according to a study published in the Dec. 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

THURSDAY, Dec. 1, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Mutant BCL11B has been identified as a cause of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) in newborn screening, according to a study published in the Dec. 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

THURSDAY, Dec. 1, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The number of people in families having problems paying medical bills fell by nearly 13 million from 2011 through the first six months of 2016, according to a report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).